WIP and some Graduations!

I have actually been sewing a lot this week! I have 7 of the 14 rows done on my Falling Good Fortune Charms...

No, that's actually not the direction it goes on the bed, but it fits that way while I'm deciding what block goes next. And yes, it could use some more ironing! I left it at my sewing machine with one row all pinned and when I got back to sew it, it had gotten a bit wrinkled.
I have also been working on a READ wall hanging for my friend who is the media specialist at my kids' school.

I haven't gotten far with it yet but  I did go through my bag of selvages to find some "titles" for the books that will go with it.

I really need to come up with something to do with these selvages. Hmmm...
Anyway, I did find a few and I can sew in the rest.

My beautiful niece got her quilt from me this weekend. She was so cute and excited! This was a combination "turning 18" and graduation quilt.

There was a cookout at her house to celebrate her graduation. She told me later it was already on her bed at home. I love it when a quilt brightens someone's day, don't you?

A Finish and Closing in on 500!

I finally finished Alye's quilt! And just in time, too! She's reaching so many milestones all at once! Turning 18, going to the prom, and then graduation. Remember all that fun? Anyway, here's the quilt.

It's approximately 62x71 after washing and drying. It is based on the double slice quilt from Missouri Star Quilt Co., but I added sashing. I did straight line quilting close to this design.

And here's a view with a bit of the back showing.

The back is all the floral fabric. My daughter said it was cool because the front looked more modern but the back looked a little old fashioned.
Stay tuned cause I'll be participating in a blog hop soon and will have goodies to show. Also, this is post 498! Two more til 500! I am going to just rope it into the Giveaway Day through Sew Mama Sew so stayed tuned for that as well!

   

Always Something There to Remind Me

My back is killing me, which can only mean one thing...I've been pinning a quilt! Yup, finally getting some stuff done around here. I'm tired of there being partially done quilts everywhere I look in my sewing room to remind me that I have tons to finish! So, I put together the backing and so far I am about 2/3 of the way done with pinning on Alye's (my niece) quilt.

I'm also branching out and drinking the koolaid on this one! I decided to try some nicer thread. I have used some Mettler and Gutterman I picked up at a yard sale but that's the nicest I've gone so far. I decided to go with Aurifil since it seems to be one of the biggies and my LQS carries it.

While I was at my LQS, I picked up some more fabric to enlarge my red/black and white quilt. Not exactly sure how I'm going to use it yet but I really like that chevron looking fabric!

And last but not least I've been playing around with my Skill Builder blocks on my design wall. Just another lap quilt, probably for another niece, but I'm hopefully getting some done and out of my sewing room soon!

I Think I Can, I Think I Can, I Think I.....oops!

Why is it you never see mistakes until you take a picture of something? When I'm able to stand back and really take a look at something it always jumps out at me. Why couldn't it jump out while I'm working on it? I hate the seam ripper!

Let's just see if you notice it...

I finished the top for my "Sweet 18" quilt (that's what I'm calling my modified Double Slice quilt since it's for my niece). 

It ended up about 62x72 which is pretty big for a lap but she's going off to college so I figured she might be able to throw it on her bed. Do you see the boo boo yet? I'm trying to decide whether I care enough  to fix it if it's not really obvious. But of course, I'm obsessive so I'll probably have to take it apart and fix it. I'll let you stew on it a minute while I report some more progress.

I made myself a lovely charcoal wrap for those chilly evenings when we go out. It's made from Caron yarn and it hangs very nicely.

I also made a new rug for my kitchen using a new stitch I've never done before called a single crochet thermal stitch. It's like a double layer and makes the rug cushy under your feet.

I also have been on a hat fest lately and my absolute favorite is this one. It's a newsboy cap from this pattern at Ravelry.

This one is gray and I'm already making another in a tan with specks like a tweed. Love it! 

Okay, so what's wrong with the quilt top? If you look at the second row from the bottom, it starts with the block going the wrong direction, which means the last row is wrong too. I can either remove the two bottom rows together and just attach them to the top, but I will have to remove the black strip on the bottom and reattach it to the new bottom of the quilt. Or I could remove both bottom rows separately and switch them around. Either way I have to rip two whole strips. Arrrrghhhhhh!!!!!